Teacher Preparedness and Learners Performance in Mathematics at Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in Baringo Central Sub-County, Kenya
Abstract
In school curricula, mathematics plays a crucial role and of great importance in our daily life; yet there is low mathematic performance of pupils in the world over and Kenya is no exception. Mathematics performance in Baringo County is not satisfactory. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of teacher preparedness on performance of mathematics in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in Baringo Central Sub-County, Kenya. The study used social constructivism theory developed by Vygotsky. The study used descriptive survey design and the data collection was done through the questionnaires and interview schedule. The target population consisted of 139 head teachers, 973 mathematics teachers. The study adopted purposive sampling to obtain the mathematics teachers. In the study a sample of 125 head teachers and 467 mathematics teachers was obtained. Data was analyzed using both qualitative (means, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation). Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings established that there was a strong positive and significant influence of Teachers’ preparedness on performance of mathematics (r = 0.214, sign. = 0.019) in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in Baringo Central Sub-County, Kenya. The study findings clearly revealed that teacher preparedness had influences on the performance of mathematics at KCPE in Public Primary schools in Baringo Central Sub- County, Kenya. The findings conclude that teachers’ preparedness largely depended on the professional documents of the teachers like scheme of work, lesson plans, records of work, lesson notes and registers to enable the pupils perform at KCPE. The study recommends that teacher preparedness should be considered in ensuring that teachers perform to their expectations. The professional trainings offered by different organizations to the teachers should be frequently offered to the teachers so that they can improve on their exposure of teaching mathematics.
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